7IO June. 191 i.] Stcds and Seeding. 409 



-at different seasons of the year, it is impossible to lay down any hard 



.and fast rule regarding the depth to plant, that will work season in and 

 season out, with all sorts of seeds, in different soils. An old gardener's 

 rule was to plant seeds twice their diameter in depth. This rule may be 



■of some value in planting small or " round " seeds in frames or glass- 

 houses, where the soil is finely prepared and the conditions well under con- 

 trol ; but it is of little or no practical value in field operations. Seeds are 



-generally planted much deeper. Where horse tillage is adopted and heavy 

 implements used, they often reach ten, twenty, or fifty times their diameter 

 in depth. With many seeds that require the pre.sence of moisture over 

 a long period for germination, it is distinctly advantageous to plant com- 

 paratively deep. This is particularly so during the dry season. W^ith 

 many of the leguminous seeds which contain a varying percentage of what 

 are known as " hard seeds," such as clover, this deep planting is attended 

 with good results. 



The chief factors that invariably govern the depth to plant are: — 



1. Whether the soil is wet or dry. 



2. Good or poor tillage. 



3. The kind or size of seed. 



4. The season. 



If the soil is wet, and likely to remain so long enough for the process 

 •of germination and for the establishment of the young plants, shallow 

 planting should be adopted. This is particularly so in many of the northern 

 areas where the soils are lacking in nitrogenous matter, and have a tendency 

 to settle down close after rain j which results in the exclusion of air, to the 

 detriment of the seed. Little moisture is required to germinate most seeds ; 

 and even a limited contact with the wet soil in the large sheltered interstices 

 will bring about the desired result. In dry soil, where the moisture is at 

 greater depth and the surface soil is loose and granular, containing a good 

 supply of air, seed can be sown much deeper. They thus get the benefit 

 of soil moisture; find a more genial temperature; and the loose surface 

 jmulch does not present the difficulties in the upward extension of the first 

 seed leaf or leaves, that occur where the soil is close. If the soil is likely 

 to become drier after planting, it should be firmed down over the seed. 

 They thus get a better contact with the soil and the benefit of such moisture 

 as it contains. This is, however, only a temporary expedient, and should 

 ■be adopted with caution, as it hastens evaporation by increasing capillarity. 

 Firming down is adopted with peaty or nitrogenous soils that have a 

 , great surface movement, or where they become open or friable on top. If 

 the soil is dry, the seed will remain without deterioration for a long time 

 after .sowing. Once the process of germination is started, however, they 

 ..should l)e kept continually moist until well above ground- 

 It is obvious that if the soil is well tilled, its particles will lie closer 

 together; its capillarity will be greater, and any seed lying in the smaller 

 particle.? will get a better contact with the soil and the benefit of available 

 moisture; while the reverse will be the case where the ground is nmgh 

 Hence, as a general rule, the setrl should be .sown shallower in well-worke>i 

 than in poorly-worked soil. 



Large seeds are, as a rule, sown dfcper than small seed. However, this 

 is not .so in a comparative .sense. With tho.se .seeds that are of a fatty or 

 -oily nature, shallower planting should he adopted, unless their covt^ing is 

 of an open, airy nature. In tlif successful projjagation of many plants, 

 Nature will often give a clue to the close observer. Man. to meet his 

 needs, has transported plants far from their native habitat ; and, in their 

 new and strange environs, tii«->t' jilants often show a disability, or fail 



